Limited access granted for info on targeting U.S. citizens abroad

WASHINGTON — The White House agreed Tuesday to allow senators on the Intelligence Committee — and their staffs — to have ongoing access to legal rationale for the Obama administration's targeted killing program of U.S. citizens abroad.

Colorado Sen. Mark Udall and Oregon Sen. Mark Wyden, both Democrats, have been pushing the U.S. Justice Department to be transparent in how they justify killing American-born citizens abroad who they believe are apart of terrorism activities.

The administration told Udall's office Tuesday morning it would allow senators and their legal staffs continuing access to the legal rationale ahead of the Senate vote to confirm John Brennan as director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Udall said he wanted full access to the Justice Department's legal opinion before voting to confirm Brennan. Now that he has the documents, Udall said he will support him.

"For the Senate Intelligence Committee to fulfill its oversight responsibilities, we need full access to the Obama administration's documents that outline the legal basis for the lethal targeting of American citizens," Udall said Tuesday. "We need to understand what the administration believes the limits on its authorities are."

Last month, President Barack Obama did a limited release of the confidential legal opinion to senators on the Intelligence Committee justifying the targeted killing program.

Advertisement

The legal opinion was available for a single day and Udall and his Senate colleagues were not allowed to bring in staffers or their own lawyers to help them parse the language

Udall said he only had 15 to 20 minutes with the document because it was a busy day and he wasn't able to fully understand it without help.

That said, he said there "could be a strong case" for the United States to continue the targeted killing program, but he wants more time, and some legal help, before deciding for sure.

Americans are afforded constitutional privileges both on the homeland and abroad — making the killing program a complex legal tangle between civil liberties and the executive and legislative branches of government.

On Tuesday Udall said, "I intend to carefully review these documents with a continuing goal to protect national security, safeguard Americans' constitutional liberties and determine the limits of executive branch powers in this new age of warfare."

Lockheed says object part of 'sensor technology' testing that ended ThursdayWhat the heck is that thing? It's fair to assume that question was on the minds of many people who traveled along Colo. 128 south of Boulder this week if they happened to catch a glimpse of what appeared to be a large, silver projectile perched alongside the highway and pointed north toward town.

PARIS (AP) — Bye, New York! Ciao, Milan! Bonjour, Paris! The world's largest traveling circus of fashion editors, models, buyers and journalists has descended on the French capital, clutching their metro maps and city guides, to cap the ready-to-wear fashion season. Full Story